Yours, Mine, & Ours
by Chick with a Brick
Summary: 30 years ago, Callie & Arizona were high school sweethearts on the marriage track. Life changed, miles between them grew, & eventually they ended up world's apart. Now, both back in the same town with their kids in tow, will their flames reignite, will old loves rekindle, will their children be up for the adventure they're heading into? Will love be enough to hold them together?
1. Chapter 1

**This story is brought to you by doctor ordered bedrest and way too much Netflix time on my hands. I know at one point there was a story floating around with the same title but I can assure you that this story is not a rip-off of that one. Also, while the premise of this story does mirror the two films with the name Yours Mine and Ours, after the initial few chapters, it will grow a mind of its own, off into its own world. I like the idea from the film but I don't believe it was fully developed into a great story, so that's what I'm hoping to accomplish here. While there will be romance and courting, this story is not without angst and drama. Anybody who is lucky enough to be part of a blended family knows that heads will butt, feelings will get hurt, and miscommunication is natural. I hope to remain realistic while keeping an air of fiction in the mix. As the story progresses, the chapters will grow in size but as I'm setting the scene, the first several chapters are shorter than the preference of most readers. Stick with me, I have quite a bit written so the shorter chapters will follow each other in faster in posting.**

 **Thanks for taking the time to read this story and joining me on this adventure. I look forward to hearing from you and getting your feedback.**

 ** _(Also, anybody experienced in editing, who would like to take the time and care in helping me beta, your kindness would be much appreciated. Also, you'd get to read to chapters well in advance of the rest of the readers. Please let me know.)_**

 **xx**

Callie was tired, to say the least. Exhausted was probably an understatement. At 48, a widow, a single mom of ten kids ranging from 4 to 18, she was always on the go from just before sun-up to hours after her last babe was in bed. When she wasn't wrangling her kids, chauffeuring them around, or cooking enough food for a small army, she tired her best to support them with her many failed attempts back into the fashion world. Money wasn't a problem, per se. With the life insurance policy of her late wife and the more than generous settlement from the accident that took her wife from them, there was plenty of income, except she didn't want to touch any of that money if at all possible. She had expertly managed to put all of the money into large college funds for each child. There was also her own trust fund if things became too difficult, financially, but she considered that blood money and only ever touched the principle interest because her father would never be the wiser. He was made well aware of any withdraws from the primary account but all of the interest was deposited into her own account without his knowledge. The only reason Callie even had a trust fund again was because after the untimely and unexpected death of her wife, her parents thought they could buy her heterosexuality. They would never understand and she knew that the moment she found herself with another female companion, they'd take the money back and probably demand the return of any money she had withdrawn from it.

Not that she was ever planning to marry again, with ten kids and a hole in her heart the size of Texas, it wasn't something she planned to do. Not only did she doubt any sane woman would take on her circus, but she doubted she could ever love again. Kat was it for her.

 **xx**

Arizona never wanted kids or a family, her Coast Guard career was number one, the most important thing in her life. But then she met, Angela, and fell madly, deeply in love with the woman. Angela had always dreamed of a big family and Arizona would do, _did_ do anything and everything to make her wife as happy as Angela made her. She was in a great place with her career when they met, going from the academy straight to the officer's club, which meant money was never an issue. She could support her entire crew by herself even though her wife continued with her journalism career anyway. Though after their first child, Angela worked from a home-base in the states instead of traveling alongside Arizona as she had done in the early years of their marriage. She worked through every pregnancy, while raising the kids, even when she became sick, almost right up to the end.

And there was an end, leaving Arizona the sole mother and caretaker of eight kids. Eight kids. With her career, Arizona spent months at sea or places around the world unknown, which meant she needed help. In order to support eight kids, she needed her job and it was all she'd ever known anyway, so her mom dropped everything and moved in with them to lend a hand and take charge. Even though their grandmother was around all the time, Arizona felt guilty for her long absences. Her youngest didn't even call her Mom or Mommy but Admiral as did Arizona's Coasties, and Arizona was pretty certain she'd been gone more of his life than she'd been home. So, when the opportunity to be the first female superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy presented itself, Arizona jumped at the offer. She packed up her family, again and hopefully for the last time, and moved to Connecticut. She couldn't pass up a nine to five job where she'd see her kids every day. Connecticut was home for her anyway and probably was as good a place as any to start over. Her kids had to be her number one priority, they _were_ her number one priority.

To be continued . . .


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for your feedback and reviews, I really appreciate hearing from you. I'll post a few more chapters to see if it's worth it for you guys and you're interested in me progressing forward. If it sucks, I'm sorry.**

 **There's only one more short chapter after this, then I promise much meatier chapters will follow. (Is there a reader preference on size of chapters?) The short chapters are just to set up the story. Callie and Arizona will meet again soon enough, I promise. Also after I introduce _all_ of the children, I'll post a chart at the end of that chapter for you to follow the children. I have one next to me while I write to keep things in order so I imagine reading can be just as confusing.**

 **To answer the guest question about Arizona's age, she's 48.**

 **Beta help, please?**

 **xx**

Benjamin was giving her the silent treatment, Molly was trying to dress her up as a teenager going Lord knows where, and the twins were currently chasing the rest of their siblings around the house with Nerf guns Owen had given them on their last birthday all while her mother remained suspiciously quiet in the background.

"Molly Quinn Robbins, I hope this is some repressed childhood lack of Barbies thing for you and that you don't think dressing this way is at all acceptable because if I ever catch you dressed in this manner for _any_ reason you can be sure I'll send you to an all-girls college after you finish up your last two years at an all-girl military academy." Arizona threatened her 17-year-old daughter.

She laughed in Arizona's face. "That's a wild assumption that I'm straight, Mom, and insulting you aren't open minded enough to imagine you have any gay children. Coming from a lesbian, that's rich." Molly was Arizona's most trying child. She was the perfect likeness to Angela and was everything that made Arizona fall in love with her wife. And everything that made her want to murder her wife, too. Molly gave Arizona the most sleepless nights and back talk, but she wouldn't trade her for a well behaved and polite child, not for anything.

"I assume your grandmother catching you kissing the new neighbor boy was your experimentation with heterosexuality then?" Arizona smirked as blush grew on her daughter's cheeks. Yes, she knew about her daughter's welcome to the neighborhood. She might have strict dating rules, as in, _"Hello, I'm an Admiral in the US Coast Guard and I know just where the sharks feed, specifically their feeding frenzy times, so when I say 9 p.m. curfew, I mean not a minute past,"_ but she knew her daughter's type and it did not come with breasts.

Molly sent her an evil look.

"Look, we are just going to dinner at a very nice restaurant, nothing extraordinary or special which would require something with more … flare." Arizona tried to explain why a short dress from her daughter's closet and her knee-high boots weren't acceptable.

"You're allowed to go out and have fun, Mom. Mama wouldn't want you to sit around the house every night pining over her. She said you loved with the biggest heart she'd ever seen and that it would be a shame to not share that love again." Molly grew serious, something Angela could do in any situation when it called for it, go from one extreme to the voice of reason.

"I _am_ going out, Molly." Arizona tried to smile.

"Only because Hunt didn't give you a choice. You'd have never done this without whatever it is he blackmailed you with. Mom, I'm serious. Mama didn't want you to have to keep suffering. She loved you so much she wants you to find that again."

Arizona knew Molly wasn't just speaking what she knew was needed, they were words from her wife's mouth. Words she'd heard a bunch of times before Angela passed away and now, it was obviously Molly's job to keep reminding her.

"I'm trying." Arizona's voice hitched. "But it's not like everybody here is happy about this anyway."

"Gram isn't unhappy, she's just worried about you getting your heart broken again. And Benny will figure it out, he thinks he's supposed to take care of you and protect you and you are now going out to replace him. He's 18, he thinks he has to be your right-hand man. And the kids don't really get it and they don't have to yet. Until you bring someone home and then God save them." Molly chuckled when she saw her mom's expression soften.

"When did you get so wise, Kiddo?"

"I'm seventeen, Mom!"

"I love you. Make sure you're in bed on time." Arizona reminded her as she pulled at the hem of her dress. She felt exposed and nervous.

"Do I need to remind you about curfew?" Molly teased as if her straight-edge, by the books, Admiral-mom would ever need to be reminded of rules.

Arizona laughed. "When have I ever done anything spontaneous?"

To be continued . . .


	3. Chapter 3

**I appreciate hearing from the people who have left reviews, a lot. It does a lot to help the jitters on posting a piece of yourself out there for everybody to see and judge and it means so much. But I also feel like this isn't being well received so I'm probably going to scrap the idea and story. I don't know if it's because Callie and Arizona haven't met yet or if the story and writing itself just sucks but either way, I'm sorry. I'll give it this last go, so here goes nothing. This chapter is longer as promised. If I decide to keep going, I would really love the help of a beta to bounce ideas off of as well as help me with grammar and punctuation. Please!? (and thank you)**

 **xx**

"I feel uncomfortable leaving the kids," Callie complained as Mark pulled out her chair. She sunk into it with a pouty sigh.

"Cal, we couldn't have had this meeting at your house. I can deal with flying hamsters and goats in sweaters but not everyone is as easy going as I am," Mark chuckled.

Callie snorted. "Easy going? When Randy landed on you, you screamed so loudly that I thought the Coast Guard Academy sirens were going off." She teased. "I know Mer can handle things tonight, I just don't like them going to bed without me. Bed times are …" she paused trying to think of the right way to describe it without sounding as pathetic as she felt.

"Rough, I know, I've been there." Mark's forehead wrinkled as he sent her a knowing look. "And not just for the kids."

And he was right. Usually after everyone was in bed and the house had been cleaned, lunches prepped for the next day, book bags packed, animals had been contained to their respective rooms, and Callie's designs had long been neglected in her studio, she would finally breakdown. Quietly. In the sanctuary of her bedroom where she could privately mourn without upsetting her kids, without those side way, widow-pitying glances from friends and family. Mark, as not only her agent but her best friend, was the only one who was privy to those moments.

Being a mother of ten kids was hard enough when you had a two-parent system. Now, Callie celebrated all of their milestones alone and handled all of the world's problems the same way.

On more than one occasion over the last two years, Mark held Callie up, helping her make it through the day. He knew her struggles which was why this meeting and possible fashion line deal were so important. If she landed this contract, she'd have one less worry. Even though she'd fought him on this, having no faith in her talents, he ignored her pleas and arranged things for her. She just needed that push and he had hope he could push her out of her comfort zone in more than one way.

He sat watching the pained look on Callie's face and Mark figured it was now or never. He couldn't make her feel much worse.

"So, I have this friend …" Mark didn't even get to finish his thought before Callie interrupted him with a snort.

"Let me guess, she's gorgeous, nice, probably has some great job, too, like saving sick kids or curing cancer." Callie mocked.

"Cal…"

"Come on, Mark, nobody is going to want ten kids and a woman with emotional baggage."

"It's been three years, Callie." He knew it had less to do with the number of mouths to feed and more to do with what fed her heart.

"I've gone on dates," Callie avoided eye contact when Mark scoffed. "Okay, I've been asked out."

"And you've turned every single one of them down. Christ, Cal, you still wear your wedding band." There was no harsh, accusing tone in his voice, only sympathetic sadness. "You use me as your beard everywhere we go. And not that I'm not flattered because I am but …"

Callie smiled in an attempt to hide the threatening tears. "Mark, she was the love of my life. I've only ever loved two women and maybe that's it for me. Maybe it's all I get." Callie released a sigh. "And I'm okay with that. I have my kids, I only need them, and they need me, Mark. I can't go around dating who knows what type of women when Emil still asks for Mommy every single night at bedtime and Regan still cries for Kat every time she has a nightmare. The twins still think because their adoption process was so difficult, that it's their fault. If somehow we hadn't been so stressed out all the time fighting for them, that Kat wouldn't have been so tired that night driving home and maybe she would have seen the tractor trailer before it hit her. I can't get them to understand accidents happen and it was nobody's fault, there was a mechanical failure and it would have happened no matter what. Dating is really the last thing on my mind."

"Why don't you order a bottle of red and a bottle of white for the table, I'm going to go see what's taking them so long." Mark reached out and squeezed her hand. "I love you and just want you to be happy."

Callie threw her head back in a laugh. "You are just afraid I'll die and you'll become guardian to ten kids."

Mark chuckled in response before he leaned in and kissed her cheek as he stood up.

It was in that moment Arizona was brought out of her thoughts. That laugh. She knew it well. Or she used to know it well. It threw her back thirty years and she felt her heart flutter at the sound.

As she looked over her shoulder to locate the source of the laughter, the woman whom she was certain it belonged to, Arizona watched a slightly older gentleman, handsome in that cocky and confident way, smile wide and kiss said source of laughter.

Calliope Torres.

Arizona couldn't help the grin which spread across her face. It had been almost three decades but she was still as stunning now as she'd been all those years ago. And it was as if Arizona's body had a mind of its own and without knowing or even caring where her date was in her mind-numbing story about … about what Arizona had no idea, she found herself making an excuse to leave the table and was already walking in the direction of Callie.

She had no idea what she was going to say but that didn't matter. Neither did Callie's husband. That part burned, just a little, but Arizona was always well aware of Callie's bisexuality and all Arizona ever wanted was for Callie to be happy, even if it wasn't of her doing.

It wasn't as if their break-up had been one of grief and drama. For the most part. Arizona went off to the Coast Guard Academy, as was always the plan, and Callie to New York City, for the glamour, the lights, the fast pace living Arizona found no place in. A Coast Guardsman's wife was never Callie's dream, she didn't even like boats. After graduation, Arizona deployed to Southwest Asia while Callie was living it up in the big city, thousands of miles away. They simply grew apart until one day Callie and Arizona were no more. They tried to stay in touch but with Arizona traveling all over the world and then news of Callie marrying reached her, radio silence was ultimately their end result.

"Calliope Torres!" Arizona stood just next to the seated woman with a huge grin on her face.

Very few people called her that and not for a very long time. Scooting her chair back in a rush, Callie popped up with her own matching grin. "Arizona!?" Without waiting for a response, Callie reached out and pulled the other woman into an embrace. "What are you doing here?" She asked with excitement dripping from her voice.

"I live here. Well, I just moved back. First female Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy," she stated proudly.

"That's great! Like wow. It's your dream coming true." Callie flashed Arizona a bright smile.

"What about you? Last I heard, you were in New York City, what happened?" Arizona asked with genuine interest.

"New York City wasn't where we wanted to raise the kids so I've been back for …" Callie paused to do the math. "Fifteen years, about."

"Of course," Arizona smiled as she saw Callie's husband returning with a few people in tow. Arizona decided it was best to cut their reunion short. She had no idea if he knew about Callie's romantic history and it wasn't up to Arizona to tell him if not. "I should get back," she motioned toward her table and date, "but maybe I'll see you again soon." Arizona paused biting her lip. "Are you going to the reunion?" The hope in her voice was causing her heart to race. What was she doing trying to set up a catch-up date with her _married_ ex-girlfriend?

"No … well," Callie hadn't actually planned on it. "I hadn't really made up my mind. An overnight cruise means an overnight babysitter and it's not something I really ever do."

Arizona's smile faltered and this didn't go unnoticed by Callie. "Ya know what? Yeah, I'll figure it out. It would be nice to catch up." Callie's grin was so wide it was beginning to hurt her cheeks.

"Yeah, it would." Arizona nodded. "I guess I'll see you there. Save me a dance?" _Gah, what are doing? This is a married woman, Arizona._

"Of course." Callie gave Arizona an awkward wave as she watched her return to the woman at her table.

Sitting back down after spotting the other woman, Callie felt a pang of regret. Just because Arizona didn't wear a wedding ring didn't mean she wasn't married. Arizona was never a fan of jewelry anyway. Of course Arizona would be married. What was she thinking? And why was she even thinking it?

And now, Callie had to spend an entire night trapped on a ship with Arizona and her beautiful wife. Maybe she could talk Mark into going along with her.

To be continued . . .


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi again. Thanks for all of the support, messages, and reviews. I guess since I've always been a reviewer (guest until I made this verified account) that it was second nature for readers to reply. It's really hard to be encouraged to post when there's a lack of feedback but knowing the silence doesn't have to do with my story does make me feel a tiny bit better.**

 **I know where I cut this chapter off isn't the most appealing but it gives you insight into where the next chapter will begin so there's always that to look forward to and it'll be up tomorrow.**

 **Regarding posting, I can continue to post chapters of about 1500-2500 words, daily, or I can move onto posting longer, 5000 words or more chapters, weekly or bi-weekly. I'll probably go with the majority consensus for my decision and start after I post the next chapter. Thanks again for your responses and reviews. You're all very lovely people and I'm thankful for you reading and enjoying my story. All mistakes are my own. Sorry.**

 **Hope you enjoy and hope to hear from you.**

 **Still in search of a beta, I'm on my knees begging. (I can pay you exactly what I get paid to write free fanfiction for free.) (Yes, that's my snarky and rude response because how can I pay somebody when I don't get paid to do this? And why would I pay somebody to do it aside from gratitude and possibly friendship?)**

 **xx**

"How was your date?" Owen asked as they ran the track around the school.

"Let's just say you're not allowed to set me up on anymore blind dates." Arizona huffed as she struggled to keep up. Being deployed for all those years, mostly on ships in the middle of the ocean, she really let her training go.

"Arizona, it's been three years."

"I'm not opposed to dating, it's your choice of dates for me who I'm opposed to, Owen."

Sucking his teeth, Owen chuckled. "She seemed nice at the clinic."

"Nice wasn't the problem. Boring. Dull. And then the eight-kid thing had her running before desserts." A huge grin spread across her face. "But you'll never guess who I ran into at the restaurant. Callie Torres." She finished not giving him a chance to respond.

"Callie Torres as in your ex-girlfriend, Callie Torres? As in the one you were going to marry, Callie Torres?"

Arizona nodded and before Owen could ask, she answered. "She's married with kids," she said with a resounding sigh. "And I made plans to meet up with her at the reunion."

Owen barked a laugh.

"I know and now I'm stuck on a cruise ship with my gorgeous ex-girlfriend and her underwear model husband."

Owen smirked. "Want me to set you up with my dental hygienist for the night? She's dumb as a box of rocks but hotter than the sun."

"No. No, thank you. One disaster on the boat will be enough." Arizona pushed at Owen's shoulder, knocking him off balance, before she took off for the finish line, throwing her arms in the air in victory as she beat him.

"Hey! Cheater!" Owen called after her. "Since when did you start running again? You're the Superintendent, you don't have to worry about anything anymore." He paused as he figured it out on his own, a wide grin replacing his previous moment of annoyance. "You're trying to get in shape for Torres."

Arizona's mouth dropped open in mock shock before she tried to protest. The words falling out of her mouth might have been more believable had there not been a twinkle of truth in her eyes.

"She's married, Robbins."

"Well, doesn't mean I can't look and doesn't mean she can't see just what she is missing." The twinkle in Arizona's eyes had a devious glint behind it. Owen knew better than to try to talk her out of it but he wasn't sure who he was most concerned for, Arizona's already fragile heart, Callie's husband who had no idea what … who was about to hit him, or Callie Torres, herself. She'd always been so weak-willed where Arizona was concerned and Owen worried, not about her remaining loyal to her husband but about what having Arizona back in her world would do her sanity.

Looking up from her stretch, Arizona caught the look of concern on Owen's face. "Look, I have a month until the reunion. I'm either going to run myself into a tight, red dress or I'm going to run Callie Torres out of my system. Let's not borrow trouble until it's inevitable."

"I think we're at the inevitable stage," Owen mumbled as he strolled over to help Arizona stretch out her quads.

 **xx**

The month flew by in what Callie felt was the blink of an eye. Wasn't it just yesterday she was begging her little sister for her help getting her on this stupid ship? And now here she was, 30 days later, hoping one of her kids fell ill or threw one of their impressive tantrums causing Callie to have to cancel plans and return home. Callie clutched her cell phone tightly in her hand as she boarded the ship as if it were her very own life vest. One ring was all she needed. One ring in the next 45 minutes before they departed the dock. She didn't know what the hell she was even doing here or how. Well, the how was easy. Because Aria had been part of _that_ crowd, a cheerleader, popular … straight, she pulled strings to get Callie on the reunion cruise well after the reservations had to be in. And because they caved so early, Callie worried they had only accepted her to give them someone to poke fun at all these years later. She wasn't … hadn't exactly been … Callie was a dork in high school. She lacked any self-confidence, she wore over-sized clothes hoping to blend into the background, she chewed on her hair when she was nervous, which was often, and to top matters off, she liked girls. She had no idea why the hell she wanted to put herself through all of that drama again just to see Arizona. Arizona _and_ her wife.

A night of cleaning up glitter from shag carpeting sounded more fun and less stressful.

Sure, she'd come a long way from her high school days. She now embraced her body and sexuality. She was confident, secure, and proud of the woman she'd grown into. Sure, that was all true … until she stepped foot on that damn ship and felt like a 15 year old outcast all over again. Arizona had always been the one who stood up for her, been by her side, was the reason she made it out of high school alive. Callie had been an awkward kid and the brunt of too many jokes back then. If it hadn't been for Arizona coming to her aid, changing her life in so many ways, Callie wasn't sure she'd be the woman she was today.

 _Sophomore year had to be better than freshman. That was her transition year, this was her making it year. Her mom had taken her shopping the week before, picking out a completely new wardrobe, something to give her a bit of confidence. Fashion Club's sponsor this year was Callie's favorite teacher, Ms. Drummond. Yes, Callie had a huge crush on her but really, she wrote it off as it being also nice to have a strong female role model. Or at least that was what she was telling herself. Callie was definitely ready to face the rest of her high school career._

Except her sophomore year was also Aria's freshman year which meant all of Aria's little, annoying friends were also invading Callie's school. She had enough of their annoying giggling and snotty attitudes over the summer and didn't want to have to put up with it in school, too. But she'd deal, it wasn't as if any of them had the brain power to be in any of the advanced classes she was taking, Callie would only have to deal with them in the halls. Yet it took them all of ten minutes to ruin the first day of Callie's sophomore year. They were why for the first time in Callie's entire life, she skipped a class. All of her classes that day. And they were also why she met Arizona Robbins.

Callie could still hear them calling her a Carpet Muncher and a Muff Diver, taunting her as she went down the hall. Ran down the hall. Of course, of all the people in the world, it would be Aria's evil friends who knew her secret attraction to other girls. She knew her diary had been picked even though Aria fervently denied it.

She was never going back in that school and it wasn't as if she could go home to tell her parents why. They'd throw her out on the street faster than Father Kevin could her 'sin'. Maybe she'd just drop out and hit the road. Backpack through Europe. She was almost 16. At 16, there was little they could say or do if she dropped out of school. And until 16, she'd just hide out far away from everybody, stay in the shadows and off the grid. Which is where Arizona Robbins found her, hiding out on the empty bleachers at the empty baseball field across campus.

It was Arizona's first year at the school, having just transferred there. As she stood in the hallway trying to make heads or tails of her schedule, she witnessed Callie being taunted by the younger girls. Having been through it herself, too many times to count, she understood just what Callie was going through. She had followed Callie outside, slowly making her way to where the other girl had run off toward. Not wanting to scare her, Arizona cleared her throat to make herself known. Callie said nothing, turning away from the intruder, using the sleeve of her jacket to wipe away her tears. Arizona sat down next to her, also saying nothing. It wasn't until the bell rang for first period that Callie spoke up.

"Classes started," she said in hopes that the stranger would leave her to her humiliation in peace.

"I'm gay," Arizona blurted out.

Callie's head spun around and she finally got a good look at the girl beside her. She snorted a disbelieving laugh. Yeah, right. The perky looking cheerleader type next to her was definitely not gay and being in such a bad place, Callie could only assume she was there to make matters worse.

"I'm not."

Taking a deep breath, Arizona reached out, putting her hand on Callie's knee. "I'm gay, I like girls," she repeated with confidence.

Callie took a good look at the girl next to her. She didn't seem like she was trying to be anything but sincere.

"I'm not gay," Callie mumbled, looking down at her tennis shoes. "I like boys."

Arizona heard the pause in her voice and waited. There was more wanting to come out and Arizona wasn't in a hurry.

Kicking at the metal of the bleacher stand, Callie stared helplessly at her new shoes trying to form the words out loud. For the first time, outside of her diary, she was going to do it.

"But I like girls, too," she said a few moments later, her voice almost a whisper of response.

Arizona squeezed Callie's knee in a comforting gesture before picking up her hand and extending it out. "Arizona Robbins."

"Callie Torres." She took Arizona's hand, her entire body setting in chills as they once again made eye contact.

"Nice to meet you, Callie Torres." Arizona smiled. "Do you want to go back in?"

Callie shook her head, dropping her gaze back down to her feet as she detangled her hand from Arizona's.

"My dad's away for work, do you want to go to my house? Try again tomorrow?"

Callie looked up again, confusion etched across her face. "What about your mom?"

Arizona gave her a comforting look. "She'll understand why we're there, she'll probably even write us absent notes." It wouldn't be the first time her mom was her sanctuary. Three times last year before their fourth and final move this year, Arizona had come out at her schools. And three times she ended up  
at home just shortly after the day started, her mother there to nurse her emotional (and once, physical) wounds before setting her back out to face the world again. Arizona was certain her mom would be understanding for Callie. And probably excited that it wasn't because of her daughter that they were home.

The next day as Callie stood out front of the school, taking deep calming breaths and trying to talk herself into entering, Arizona joined up next to her. Arizona gave her a warm smile while slipping her hand in Callie's before they entered the school together.

After downing her first glass of wine to calm her nerves, Callie stood by the bow of the ship, sipping another while staring aimlessly off to sea.

xx

Three dress changes later and Arizona was finally ready to leave her cabin. She knew Callie had made it after overhearing some of their classmates commenting on Callie's transformation from geek to beauty. Arizona had always seen Callie as a beauty. She knew beneath the baggy clothes and insecurity was an amazing woman. In high school, Callie only let Arizona into that part of her. She trusted her. And for a ROTC kid, a gay one with aspirations of a military career whose life was regulated and scheduled, it was a big deal to Arizona. Callie was her polar opposite, gave her a run for her money. She had loved Callie and if she was honest, she really missed having Callie in her life. That thought alone gave her the confidence she needed to be able to get past Callie's tighty-whitey model of a husband.

Making her way out to the deck, a glass of wine already in her hand, for a brief moment, Arizona's heart stopped beating as she caught sight of Callie. Arizona watched from a distance as Callie conversed with somebody whom she didn't recognize. What she did recognize was Callie's fake smile and the slight boredom behind her eyes but only somebody who knew Callie as well as Arizona knew her, would see it. It warmed her heart that after all these years, she could still pick up Callie's cues. It also was a good thing because she watched alarm flash into those beautiful brown eyes. Following Callie's gaze, she saw Tara, Callie's old high school bully, beelining for Callie.

To be continued . . .

 **xx**

 **Get excited because you know what's coming next. Can't wait to hear from you all. Have a great and relaxing day.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A very big thank you goes to Netread for volunteering to help beta my chapters. This one she just managed to read through because I sent it to her very late at night. Be prepared for better and less error-filled chapters to follow after this.**

 **And thank you to everyone who read and left a review, it really does help to encourage.**

 **I hope you enjoy this and I also hope to hear from you. It is my plan to post the next chapter in a few days.**

 **xx**

"Calliope." Arizona swiftly cut Tara off as she reached Callie first. She took Callie's elbow and maneuvered them away from the approaching woman to a more secluded area of the deck.

"I see nothing has changed in three decades," Callie teased as they settled against the ship's railing.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Arizona tried to deny the obvious reaction she had when she saw what she felt was Callie in danger but they both knew better.

"As gallant as that was, I don't need you to save me anymore." Callie caught Arizona's disappointing reaction to her words and felt immediately guilty. There was no intent to make Arizona feel badly for her bravery and compassionate nature. "Tara's kinda sorta a friend." She peered over Arizona's shoulder and sent Tara a nod silently saying they'd catch up later.

Arizona gave Callie an unbelieving look.

"No really. I introduced her to her wife about 20 years ago. One day, out of the blue, she contacted me to apologize for being such a bitch to me in high school. She admitted she was gay and jealous that I was out and she couldn't face it."

"Tara's gay?" Arizona asked in disbelief. "Then why did she bully just you and not me?"

Callie shrugged. "Because I was an easy target, I never stood up for myself but you stood up …"

"For you. For us both." It made sense now that Arizona looked back.

"It didn't help that she had a little crush on me, too. But I was with you so she lashed out not knowing how to handle her feelings."

The conversation was making Arizona feel weird so she nodded and went for a change of subject. "So, for somebody deathly and paralyzingly afraid of boats, you've been standing awfully close to the edge."

Callie laughed. "Yeah, I'm over that. I spent a bit of time in Seattle and some days you had no choice but to board the ferry or sit in hours of traffic," she explained. "You look … you look great, Arizona," she said giving Arizona the once over. Now that they were settled, she finally had a good look and she couldn't deny she liked what she saw.

Feeling suddenly, self-conscious, Arizona started to pull at the hem of her dress. Her _daughter's_ dress to be exact. Yes, she let Molly help pick out her wardrobe for the weekend. After running ten miles, every single day for the past month, Arizona wanted to show off her progress. Or at least that's what she kept telling herself as she zipped up her 17-year-old daughter's tight, low cut, red dress. It had nothing to do with Callie. She was over Callie.

She was.

"So, where's your husband?" Arizona had no idea why she asked such a question.

Callie's forehead wrinkled before looking around to see just who Arizona was speaking to. Nobody else was there. "What?" Callie raised an amused eyebrow.

"The guy from the restaurant? The Abercrombie underwear model?" _Shut up, Arizona!_

Callie let out a long and vibrant laugh. "Mark? Mark Sloan?"

The named rang a bell but Arizona couldn't place him. Maybe he really was an underwear model. "If that's his name."

"Mark Sloan, Arizona. He was a senior when we were sophomores. Played football. Dated Addison Montgomery."

Oh shit, Callie married the captain of the football team. Fuck!

"How long have you two been together?" She stuttered her question in curious disappointment. She now remembered they shared a weird friendship in high school but nothing super close or anything she could say resembled romantic. She hoped for their sake that they hadn't had anything romantic in high school.

Callie laughed again but this time so hard she had to hold her stomach as it cramped. "Arizona, I'm not married to nor dating Mark Sloan. Ever. He's my agent and through the years, my best friend," she explained. "Do not ever tell him he's hot enough to be an underwear model, his ego is big enough. Trust me on that one." She continued to laugh.

Arizona let out a sigh of relief. "Oh. I just thought, when I saw you two together at a romantic restaurant and your wedding ring, that you two were together."

She pouted as Callie let out another healthy laugh. "Stop laughing."

"No, no, it's just, it's cute. You were jealous of Mark Sloan. It's cute." Callie teased.

"So if Mark isn't your husband, is your …" What the hell was she supposed to call them without insulting Callie's bisexuality? "Your … spouse close by?"

Callie's smile fell as she unconsciously started twirling the wedding rings on her finger in nervous habit. "No, uh …" she swallowed hard as she formed the horrible words she hated having to share, "she, uh, I lost her in an accident few years back." She looked down at her hands. "I haven't taken them off, it's just a habit." As she looked back up at Arizona, there was a sheen of tears in the blue eyes staring back at her.

"I understand, a couple of years ago, I lost my wife to cancer."

"Wow, who knew we'd both be widows before fifty." Callie joked humourlessly as her heart broke for Arizona. Callie knew better than anyone how painful it was to lose a spouse but the difference between them was, Callie didn't have to watch her wife slowly dying. That being thought, she didn't know which was better, getting to say goodbye but enduring the suffering or having the rug pulled out from beneath you but having nothing but greatness up until that point. Both pretty much sucked beyond recognition.

"Oh em gee, if it isn't Callie and Arizona back together again! Yay!" The very annoying, high-spirited voice of the cheerleading captain bellowed down to them from the deck above. Groaning in unison, they both turned around with mirroring fake goofy smiles on their face as they sent overly enthusiastic waves toward the woman above.

"You'd think after thirty years she would be over us being her token lesbians and have found another pair of gays to latch onto." Arizona mumbled under her breath for only Callie to hear. "Do you think she still uses us at parties, 'Oh, I know a lesbian, two of them. I'm so hip and in the know.'"

Callie chuckled as they turned back around. "I slept with her." She said it so nonchalantly, Arizona choked on the sip of wine she'd just taken.

"I ran into her after we … about a year after you left for southwest Asia and it's not like I planned it. We were out drinking and she was whining about her marriage and the next day I woke up with her in my bed. She pleaded with me to keep her secret." Callie grinned.

"Good job at that, Calliope." Arizona teased even if an aggressive amount of jealousy was obvious in her tone.

"Hey," Callie ignored the sarcastic tone, "she never told me how long I had to keep her secret." She was smart enough to know Arizona wasn't congratulating her on her inability to keep a secret but instead it was purely jealous sarcasm.

"Is there anyone from high school shy and geeky Callie Torres didn't sleep with?" She didn't mean to sound so harsh but she could tell without Callie saying as much, that she'd also slept with Mark Sloan.

"I slept with you." Callie cracked a grin but when Arizona only rolled her eyes, her voice dropped low and monotone. "Jeez Arizona. It's not like you were a nun after me. I'm sure you didn't lock yourself away in a convent pining over our lost love."

"You're right. You're right. I'm sorry." Arizona apologized.

Deciding it was best to get off the topic of Callie's sexual history, Arizona changed the subject to a neutral territory. Something she could also talk about with pride and love. "So, you said you had kids, how many?"

Callie paused, biting her lip in contemplation. "I do. How about you, did you and your wife have any?" If news of Callie's sex partners of past didn't send Arizona running, she was certain ten kids would.

Arizona nodded. Callie was not going to believe the woman who really didn't want children, ended up with eight of her own. "My wife was from a big family and always wanted kids so, yup."

Callie eyed her suspiciously. She knew very well the stalling tactics of disclosing personal information. The look on Arizona's face was first-class avoidance. Callie laughed.

"How many kids, Arizona?" She tried to sound less interested than she really was.

"You first." Arizona smiled awkwardly.

Callie sighed. "Same time," she dared.

At the exact moment, they both answered.

"Ten."

"Eight."

Both women burst into a fit of laughter at hearing the other's number of children.

"You're kidding, right? Messing with me?" Arizona asked figuring Callie easily found out she had eight kids by going to her biography on the Academy's website and this was some joke.

"Trust me, I don't have enough closets to hide them in, ten kids is not a joking matter." Callie chuckled awkwardly.

"Ten kids?" Arizona asked still in shock.

Callie nodded with a proud look on her face. "Well, we had four and adopted six. Well, fostered six but we kept adopting them. You having eight is a pretty big deal, I'm pretty sure we couldn't agree on even one back in the day."

Arizona shrugged awkwardly. She knew while the subject of children wasn't a main reason they ended up apart, it helped play a role in their lack of fighting for each other, for rolling over and accepting what fate had handed them. "Angela came from a big family and I was in a different place in life. My career was stable and I was climbing the ladder, easily. I was so in love with her, I'd have given her my left leg if it made her happy. After Benny was born, I was hooked anyway. I wanted twenty more of him. Now, some days, I could do with one less of him and his attitude." Arizona admitted.

Callie laughed. "I have those days with Lane, she thinks she knows everything at seventeen and I can never do anything right." Her face fell as she continued. "It's hard not having that united front any more, being their everything, and when they hate you, they have nobody. I feel helpless more often than not."

They stood there staring at each other, an intimate understanding between the two. For the first time in too long, Callie's heart wasn't so weighed down with grief and Arizona, she didn't feel so alone. When Callie reached over to squeeze Arizona's hand, she didn't expect her to hook their fingers together in what could be described as timid romantic gesture. And she didn't expect it to bring back all the feelings from years before. It felt natural … scary, but welcome.

To be continued . . .


	6. Chapter 6

**I love hearing from you, thanks for the reviews. Thanks to Netread for being my beta.**

 **To better understand the of kids, I invite you to watch the film: Yours, Mine and Ours. There are 2 versions, the main concept of this story comes from the 2005 film but both films have them having 10 and 8 kids respectively. Callie has 10 kids (conceived 4/adopted 6). Arizona has 8. I'll post the kids chart soon.**

 **Also, the U.S. Coast Guard does indeed deploy all over, not just the US, as common practice. I promise you, I've done extensive research on everything I'm writing. I even spent a good part of an hour today on hold with a cruiseline in order to find out how they number cabins on ships. The rep was amazingly helpful and walked me through a lot of cruise info, too. So to the person who left a kind of mean review in response to the person who corrected me, please be kind, we're all trying to get through this life in one piece.**

 **I hope you enjoy. The next will be up in a few days depending on my schedule. Please let me know what you think. I can't wait to hear from you.**

 **xx**

It didn't take long for the cruise staff to start herding people into dinner. As everybody made their way into the dining room, Callie and Arizona found a seat next to each other as far away as possible from some of their classmates who would pry too much. Specifically, the head cheerleader, Madison, and her crew. As Arizona once again maneuvered them away from everybody else, she told herself it had nothing to do with her jealous anger for Madison and Callie having … for them being … sex, for them having sex! She swore it had to do with the fact that they'd made Callie's life in high school rather difficult and tonight was to celebrate, not commiserate. Tara and her wife joined them as did a few gay couples, Arizona recognizing the guys from her ROTC days. She smiled as they made introductions around the table but mostly stayed quiet, observing the conversations as pretty much an outsider.

While not everybody knew each other at the table, mostly being Arizona, Callie seemed to know everyone. She'd played matchmaker with Tara and her wife, Jenny. Martin and Eddie knew her well enough to ask about each individual kid, by name. And the last couple, Jeffery and Armi asked if Callie's oldest was available to babysit the following weekend. She sat there in awe of the shy awkward girl who had blossomed into an outgoing, secure woman. But even with the admiration, Arizona couldn't help but feel a jealous anger bubbling up. Callie kept in touch or made friends with each of these people, none whom she had much of a relationship with during high school, but she couldn't stay in touch with Arizona, a woman she claimed to have loved. It stung.

True, Arizona didn't exactly reach out in Callie's direction but she didn't reach out in anybody's direction and Callie seemed to have purposely left her out of the equation all together.

Trying her best to ignore those pangs of unwelcome emotions, Arizona smiled and made small talk with those around her. She wasn't planning on confronting Callie, it wasn't her business why she was left out in the cold. Or maybe she didn't want to know why. Maybe Arizona had been good for one thing, aside from the sex because their sex-life was not one of lacking. Maybe she was good for being Callie's knight in shining Reebok, always there to save the day and then when Callie finally found her own two feet to stand on, she was done with Arizona.

Arizona's sudden silence didn't go unnoticed by Callie and she wasn't exactly sure what was going on in that blonde covered head of hers. Maybe it was the new knowledge of Callie's sexual history although she found that a petty reason to be upset, it wasn't as if she had any of these flings while they were together. Or even shortly after, Callie didn't bounce back from their break-up as well as she made it look. There were days she didn't get out of bed for any reason but necessity and months went by before she could think of Arizona without crying. Maybe after two decades and then some, Callie could be openly honest with Arizona about the demise of their relationship and they could clear the air. They were both in town again, for what looked like the foreseeable future, and Callie didn't want to live in such close proximity without having Arizona in her life again. Sure, there was definitely still an attraction between the two, at least on Callie's end this is what she felt, but they were also both widows with rather large families. They'd lived different lives for the better part of the past three decades. Callie didn't expect them to just pick right up where they left off. She was sure a romantic future was not in their cards but that didn't mean they couldn't be friends. And friends were honest with each other and so that's what Callie planned to do, find out what was wrong and fix it.

Except Arizona wasn't making it easy. For someone who wanted Callie to save her a dance, Arizona sure went out of her way to avoid dancing with Callie. First it was that she wanted to stay at the table and keep Martin company because he had a sprained ankle. Since his partner and Callie both wanted to dance, why didn't they go out together. And then after that she had the excuse to go to the bathroom even though Callie watched her go in the opposite direction of the boat's facilities. Not wanting to cause a scene of any kind, Callie didn't question Arizona about where she'd gone, when she returned. The final time Callie asked Arizona to dance, the one where Callie was losing all hope at some type of friendly reconciliation between the two women, the rejection written all over her face, Arizona agreed but it was obvious she was not at all interested.

"Wanna tell me what's bothering you?" Callie asked as her arm slipped behind Arizona's back, pulling them closer together.

"Nothing." Arizona answered with a vacant expression on her face. "I'm just worried about the kids."

Callie scoffed. Arizona had already told her Barbara lived with them to help out and there was nothing Barbara couldn't handle. Callie knew this personally, more than once Barbara had mended her own wounds. Or held her hair, that one time her and Arizona got drunk on the Colonel's liquor cabinet. Or wiped away the tears. Callie knew that Arizona's answer was pure bullshit and avoidance.

"You didn't leave your ten kids in the hands of Mark Sloan. Three of my kids have crushes on him, Emil tries out all his practical jokes on Mark and trust me when I say they aren't always funny. If he doesn't make it to age nine, I won't blame Mark. And Lane doesn't listen to Mark, she thinks he's the poster-villain of feminism. So, unless your mom decided to throw 55 years of military wife training out the window, I'm sure your kids are still breathing."

"Why didn't you write me?" Arizona blurted out the question which had been on the tip of her tongue all night long.

Callie sucked in a deep breath and looked Arizona in the eyes. The pain reflected back hurt her heart and crushed her spirit. The last thing she ever wanted to do was hurt Arizona, then and now.

"Do you really want to do this here, now?"

"Well, yeah." The tone in Arizona's voice was choked with the pain in her eyes. "God Callie, you are even friends with Tara all these years later. Tara who threw you into a locker and threatened to bash your face in and if it hadn't been for your French teacher intervening, she probably would have. We were together for seven years, we had something real. Or at least I thought we had something real and I haven't heard anything from you in over two and a half decades and don't tell me you didn't know where I was because the Coast Guard isn't the U.S. Marines, you could have easily found me."

"No, I knew where you were, everywhere you've been. I kept track of you and every time there was a casualty of someone in the service, I'd wait on the edge of my seat to hear if this time it was a Coast Guardsman. If it was you." Callie confessed. "Arizona, the best part of me was always you and without you, I was an empty shell for a very long time. Once I could put myself back together, I knew if I reached out, all that hard work would be for nothing. By the time Kat came into my life, you were out there doing great things, and it wasn't fair to either of you."

"You didn't fight for me." Arizona whispered before untangling herself from Callie's embrace and slipping from the dance floor. Callie helplessly watched her go.

"I didn't think you wanted me to," she said sadly to the empty space around her.

An hour later, as the dancing and celebrating continued, Callie made her way down the ship's hallway toward her cabin with her shoes in her hand while leaning against the wall for support. She was more than a little tipsy, having consumed just a wee bit more alcohol than intended after Arizona played her disappearing act. At first, she figured Arizona would go out onto the deck to cool off and get her head together but after she didn't return, Callie circled the entire ship looking for her to no avail. The only person she did run into was Madison who tried nonchalantly to hand Callie a piece of paper with her room number on it. "My husband couldn't make it," she whispered as she shoved the folded paper into the palm of Callie's hand.

Defeated upon return, Callie switched from wine to much harder alcohol. And that's how she ended up kind of sliding down the hall, against the wall, toward her cabin. She wasn't drunk but she also hadn't been intoxicated in so very long that the small amount she drank was doing a number on her.

M-42 was really far away as Callie looked down the hall and counted the door frames between herself and her cabin. Sliding forward, she stopped dead as she came face to face with M-09. Realization where she was sparked something deep inside of her that she thought she'd grown past. Apparently tonight's blast from the past show was all too much for her and she wanted, no needed this. With her chin set and her lips pursed, she knocked confidently on the door.

There was nothing but silence in response which only fueled Callie on. Dropping her shoes, she steadied herself to face the door, head on, and started rapping hard against the metal door.

"I know you're in there. We need to talk about what happened between us. We can't ignore it and I don't want to anymore. I don't like keeping secrets. I don't want to keep this one anymore."

To be continued ...


End file.
